That was dramtic. That is scary on many levels.One it just happened with an avalange team right there with equipment.It still took a lot of people more than a few minutes to clear him. It was quite a struggle to dig and pull him free with lots of people. What do you do if you are there alone or with only a buddy? How long does it take to drown in that situation? Does someone have time to go get help or could one person get a guy out without help?
The conventional wisdom is that you have as long to rescue as the victim can hold their breath. Most often the victim is upsidedown with their head in powder much like being in water. The tree well can be very deep such that the victim is out of reach.
